Excellent prices were achieved in our latest Country House Sale including Yorkshire Oak and Mouseman on 23^rd September, when local bidders joined collectors and trade buyers to battle it out for early pieces with provenance.

The sale featured over 60 lots with a Mouseman signature along with other Yorkshire Oak pieces including work by Wrenman and Gnomeman. Mouseman highlights included some rare biscuit barrels, which sold for £760 and £1,350, two turned oak bowls which sold for £2,600 apiece, and a small chest of drawers which sold for £2,900.

Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson (1876-1955) was a craftsman born in Kilburn North Yorkshire where he set up a business manufacturing oak furniture, carving a signature mouse onto each piece by way of a signature. Some former Kilburn apprentices set up their own workshops and carved their own signatures, collectively their work has come to be known as 'Yorkshire Oak'. The Robert Thompson workshop in Kilburn is still in operation today.

Yorkshire Oak furniture is highly sought after with collectors around the globe and is known for its quality, simple design, and durability.

Auctioneer Angus Ashworth said of the sale: ‘the earlier Mouseman pieces had been owned by a local family from new and were carved during the time of Joseph Heu (1876-1952), an Austrian master carver who fled the Nazis and worked at the famous oak carving workshop in Kilburn under Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson. Yorkshire Oak has always been popular with buyers, but we are seeing prices rise exponentially for the smaller decorative items, particularly earlier pieces.’

Also on offer in the auction was a selection of whisky including a Corbett’s Special Liqueur which sold for £520, a Jaeger-LeCoultre clock which sold for £2,550, and a Victorian diamond pendant which sold for £2,650 (all prices quoted exclude buyer’s premium).

The total hammer price for the sale was Ryedale Auctioneers’ second highest to date.

Angus added: 'Yorkshire Oak is very popular with local buyers (Kilburn is just down the road from our Kirkbymoorside saleroom), and we offer live bidding to buyers worldwide, so we're perfectly placed to achieve the best results for our vendors.'

We are currently inviting entries for our next Yorkshire Oak / Mouseman sale. To arrange a free valuation please call 01751 431 544 or email [email protected]